People-PoweredJustice

End mass incarceration in Queens and make Queens a model for the world. Decriminalize poverty and end racist law enforcement. End the war on drugs and treat substance use disorder as a medical issue. Decarcerate and restore communities. Center community solutions. Tackle corporate crimes.

I am a public defender. I have spent my career working for people who did not have resources to defend themselves against the brutal system of mass incarceration. I am running to transform the Queens District Attorney's office after years of witnessing its abuses on the front lines.

Press

“Ms. Cabán is the Democrat best poised to become one of a growing number of prosecutors to show that can be done without infringing on civil liberties, criminalizing black and Hispanic Americans and mistaking punishment for the only form of justice. ”

“Our criminal justice system needs to change,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times in a statement. “New Yorkers deserve a seat at the table, and a champion who will fight to realign our priorities toward equal treatment under the law. If Tiffany Cabán wins, things are going to change.”

As a career public defender trumpeting sweeping restorative changes to the Queens District Attorney’s office, candidate Tiffany Cabán assumed a decisive stance against the decriminalizing of poverty and mass incarcerations at a Feb. 23 meet-and-greet in Rockaway Beach.

The race is part of a generation reshaping New York City politics, long dominated by borough machines and now in flux after the election of Ocasio-Cortez in the Bronx and Queens and Jumaane Williams as public advocate.

Endorsements

Senator from Vermont

I am pleased to endorse Tiffany Caban, who is running for District Attorney in Queens, New York. Like our campaign, Tiffany is taking on virtually the entire political establishment. And like our campaign, Tiffany has put together the kind of grassroots effort it takes to win.

Senator from Massachusetts

I’m proud to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens DA in New York. Tiffany Caban will fight for working families and work to end mass incarceration. Make sure you get out and vote for Tiffany next Tuesday, June 25th.

Congresswoman for NY-14 (the Bronx + Queens)

Our criminal justice system needs to change. New Yorkers deserve a seat at the table, and a champion who will fight to realign our priorities towards equal treatment under the law. If Tiffany Cabán wins, things are going to change. Instead of criminalizing poverty, we’re going to dedicate resources towards prosecuting abusive landlords. Instead of targeting people who use marijuana, we can go after the drug companies that took advantage of working-class folks for profit.
We can end broken windows policing and rebuild the relationship between our communities, and the justice system that’s supposed to work for us. We can end cash bail, so that the rich and poor are held equal in the eyes of our community safer we help people prosper.

NYC Comptroller

I'm proud to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney. Tiffany has spent her career defending the most vulnerable New Yorkers, and she is committed to the transformational change necessary to fix the tilted scales of our justice system. As District Attorney, Tiffany will fight for all of our communities, and I look forward to working together to make our justice system more just.

Philadelphia District Attorney

I understand I’m in one more race in the United States where all the candidates on the Democratic side are using the P word. It turns out they’re all ‘progressives.’ And they’re all progressive at least from the beginning of the campaign until the end. Well here’s the truth: words are cheap. It is easy to say that you are what you have not shown yourself to be. Make no mistake: the progressive candidate that we are supporting —and by we I mean those of us who care deeply about criminal justice reform — is Tiffany Cabán.

There are an awful lot of people who have said they’re progressive. And yet their deeds, their history, does not match their words. Tiffany’s history matches her words. I am thrilled to endorse Tiffany Cabán for District Attorney. I want everyone who truly cares about criminal justice reform to get out, vote, and make sure everyone supports Tiffany.

Suffolk County District Attorney

It is my honor to be here today to endorse Tiffany Cabán for District Attorney of Queens. I’m here today standing next to my sister because I want you to understand: the momentum we have right now is unheard of. We have had someone in this role for over 20 years — we don’t get opportunities like this, and the community needs to take advantage of it. You’re going to see that when women of color stand up and want to be at the table, people come out of the woodwork to say they’re not qualified. This is the right person for the job: bold change requires exceptional leadership.

NY State Senator. Chair of Committee on Labor

It is my honor to be here today to endorse Tiffany Cabán for District Attorney of Queens. I’m here today standing next to my sister because I want you to understand: the momentum we have right now is unheard of. We have had someone in this role for over 20 years — we don’t get opportunities like this, and the community needs to take advantage of it. You’re going to see that when women of color stand up and want to be at the table, people come out of the woodwork to say they’re not qualified. This is the right person for the job: bold change requires exceptional leadership.

NYS Senator. Chairman of Committee on Banks

I'm proud to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney. As a public defender, a Queens native and a criminal justice reform champion, Tiffany has what it takes to turn the Queens DA into an office that fights for justice, not jails. For too long, the criminal justice system has let the wealthy off easy, while Black and brown New Yorkers have spent years trapped in jail. When we elect Tiffany Cabán, our communities will finally have a leader in the Queens District Attorney's office fighting for us. Black and brown New Yorkers have been mistreated and harshly punished by the broken criminal justice system for far too long—Tiffany Cabán is going to bring real justice to working families in Queens.

NY State Senator. Chair of Committee on Women's Health

I am proud to endorse Tiffany Cabán for District Attorney of Queens County, because I know that as a public defender, she understands better than anyone the ways in which mass incarceration and the judicial system criminalizes the least powerful people in our society, especially communities of color. We need to create restorative justice that will acknowledge the history of Jim Crow in New York State, and I trust Tiffany to have the perspective and understanding necessary to create justice in a space where injustice has ruled.

NY State Senator. Chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee

Tiffany Cabán has brought the sensible, evidence-based policy proposals Queens needs to truly end mass incarceration, and I am proud to endorse her. Her public defender approach to public safety through community stability is the most comprehensive and effective way to achieve the reforms necessary to fix our broken justice system. I am eager to work with her to accomplish these critical policy goals.

NY State Senator. Chairman of Committee on Health

Tiffany’s experience as a public defender and her deep roots in Queens give her a unique perspective on the practices currently in place that we need to change to put an end to the senseless criminalization of vulnerable communities. I am proud to support Tiffany Cabán as she runs to become the next Queens District Attorney and look forward to working with her as she enacts true change in our criminal justice system from the ground up.

Assemblymember for the 40th District

For decades, our criminal justice system has targeted and penalized the most impoverished and disenfranchised communities in America, pursuing a broken system of mass incarceration that has criminalized being poor and harmed countless working-class families.

Tiffany Cabán will fully transform the Queens District Attorney's office into one that treats all New Yorkers with unconditional equality before the law, regardless of their income, race, or lack of connections or resources. When Song Yang died in Flushing a year and a half ago in the middle of a surprise Vice raid, it became clear to me, more than ever, that the most vulnerable and invisible members of society are the ones hurt hardest and most by our current system. Tiffany will keep Queens safe while rebuilding trust and relationships in our communities through the pursuit of equality and true justice for all.

Assemblymember for the 65th District

I am proud to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney.

As a career public defender, Tiffany has been at the forefront of protecting our most vulnerable community members. She has defended over a thousand marginalized individuals, such as people of color or LGBTQIA+ individuals who are often the target of over policing and discriminatory practices. Tiffany has gained a unique perspective from the wealth of experience she has acquired in fighting against our broken criminal justice system and providing those who are most overlooked in our society with a strong, progressive voice in the justice system. She understands the system and she knows how to change it. As the District Attorney, she will be a champion for our community and ensure there is a fair implementation of the law to make our communities safer.

Assemblymember for the 74th District

If we want meaningful criminal justice reform, we need to change the system from the top. Tiffany Cabán is not only exactly what Queens needs, but is what our city needs. Tiffany has seen firsthand how race and class create an unjust criminal justice system. She speaks clearly about her position on decriminalizing the activities of sex workers and low-level drug offenses. I am confident Tiffany brings the knowledge and experience to transform the Queens District Attorney's office

Assemblymember for the 73th District

The residents of Queens deserve nothing less than transformational change in their criminal justice system, and there is only one candidate in this race who can deliver it. As a public defender, Tiffany Cabán led the charge against regressive prosecutorial policies and other failures of our punitive criminal justice system. As District Attorney she would prioritize truly progressive reforms, centering those most impacted, to restore communities devastated by incarceration, and create a more equitable and just Queens.

If we are serious about achieving social and economic justice we’ve got to be serious about criminal justice reform. Changing the system—not just tinkering with it—has to be the goal.

I believe that Tiffany Cabán has the relevant experience to transform the way we look at systemic inequality in the law. She knows first hand that building people up, rather than tearing them apart, ultimately makes us all safer.

NYC Council Member. Deputy Leader for Policy. Co-founder of the Council's Progressive Caucus.

I'm pleased to endorse Tiffany Caban for Queens DA. Her background as a public defender, her vision of a criminal justice system that doesn't marginalize people-of-color & the poor, and her commitment to equal justice under law make her the progressive DA that Queens needs.

Tiffany is willing to grapple with the hard truths of our carceral state, and is offering a bold and transformative approach that focuses on getting marginalized communities the supports they need, rather than targeting and imprisoning them.

NYC Councilmember

As the Queens District Attorney race presents an opportunity for a historic sea change, we need a champion who will ensure that the law serves those who have been most systematically marginalized and criminalized by it. This is exactly who Tiffany Cabán is, and what she will fight for, including for our immigrant New Yorkers. As District Attorney, Tiffany will fight to keep our immigrant families together, to oppose any cooperation with ICE on the part of New York City, to keep ICE out of institutions such as our court houses and schools, and ultimately to invest in and support our immigrant communities. Her fight for justice is inextricably connected to her experience as a queer Latina and a public defender – and she presents the best path forward in bringing about transformation that is long overdue. I am proud to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney